China's Ministry of Finance said it started to issue 26.8 billion yuan (3.94 billion U.S. dollars) of book-entry treasury bonds Thursday, the 24th batch of its kind this year.

The five-year bonds have a fixed annual interest rate of 2.9 percent, said the ministry in a statement on its website.

The sales period of the bonds will run from Sept. 24 to 28. Interest will be paid annually, with the principal paid on maturity, namely Sept. 24, 2014. The bonds will be tradable on Sept. 30.

Source: Xinhua